Hi all,

I made the decision to buy a brand new S3 IS on boxing day - the reviews were extraordinary. From some of the pics that I've taken so far, it's obvious that this is definitely a good camera. However, I want to be able to use the advanced features. I've never had this sort of camera before (usually just the automatic point and shoot) but I wanted to get something a bit more advanced. I've read the manual over and actually learned a lot - Canon provided a great manual for this camera. However, I think that I'm still lacking all of the knowledge to truly use this camera in it's more manual modes.

Are there a few tips off the top that I should know? Most of the demo pix that I've taken are good quality, but a bit noisy when you zoom a bit. I've been using M mode and am getting used to adjusting shutter/aperture/flash/ISO. The grain isn't that bad, but like I said, I'm looking for perhaps a few pointers on how to shoot at high quality and avoid as much noise as possible. For you S3 IS owners out there, which mode do you shoot at? I think that in the long term P (Program) might be better than full out manual (takes too long to get a shot set up - especially if it's something that won't last long). What exactly is program mode, and how is it different than auto? Is it a poor idea to always shoot with the automatic setting? I'm trying to learn but also make sure that if I need to take a good shot at some point soon I'll have the skills to do so. I find that it's very difficult to control the intensity of the flash on manual mode (either way too dark or too bright despite adjusting the flash intensity).

So basically -- what mode do you shoot at? Any tips and tricks for a new S3 IS owner? It was either this camera or a similar Sony model, but the reviews on this Canon sounded much better -- also like the brand from past experiences.

Thanks, and sorry for the somewhat long winded post!

I took some pics today at a charity item sale at work.. It was in a bright atrium. I took them all on P mode; some w/ flash and some without. They were all taken at 100 ISO and I believe the shutter speed was 100 ISO. I didn't put *too* much time into setting up my shots, but I didn't think that they would be grainy. I'm still looking for tips on how to try and avoid grain and the best way to get used to this camera. I'm a little disappointed with the fact that I cannot set the AF Point in P mode. Another note is that I took a super close up of my jeans using Super Macro mode, and that came out really well (in terms of focus, low grain, etc).

I know this is a great camera, I just need some help on how to use it properly without taking 10 minutes to compose a shot!